Automatic dehydration apparatus for cereals



Sept. 2, 1952 w. A. NOEL 2,603,768

AUTOMATIC DEHYDRATION APPARATUS; FOR CEREALS Filed July 5, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wimp INVENT 01?. W4. Noe

ATTD RN EY Sept. 2, 1952 w. A. NOEL 2,608,768

AUTOMATIC DEHY/DRATION APPARATUS FOR CEREALS Filed July 5, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 V M I & Z6 J, J

52 403 .A 5 MIA 35: 5 54 I I U 2 19-. 4 av/Jig] w INVENTOR.

4 Q /40 Noe/ Sept. 2, 1952 w, NOEL 2,608,768

AUTOMATIC DEHYDRATION APPARATUS FOR CEREALS Filed July 5, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Him,

. INVENTOR. W14. /\/0e/ 1 I 'Bv ATTDRN EY Patented Sept. 2, 1952 AUTOMATIU' DEHYDRATION APPARATUS: FOR CEREALS I William Ar Noel, Washington, D. 0. assignor of one.-thir.d.to John N. Joerger. and one-thirdlto: RoberLO. Kingfioth of Wasliingt'IJn,..D..C.

Application'flulyfi', 1949; S eriaFNi). 103,083;

2. Claims.

' 1; V This inventiomrelates to anautomatically G011!- trolled; apparatus for; dehydrating cereals Anobject. ofthe. invention is theprovision of an apparatus. having; a. normally closed: circuit contaming cerealsthrough.whichis forced heated ainforremoving moisture; therefrom, the airbeing circulatedicontinuously through the-grains ata predetermined; temperature until the. moisture content of 'saidair-reaches a:pr.edetermined degree whence the-greater portion of the saturated air iszwithdrawn .fromthe closedIcircuitwith afresh supply, of aiirbeing admittedthereto. and, heated tmcontinue the dehydrating process and. to come pensate; for the losszof. the-saturated; ai-rz.

Anotherrobject of theinvention is theprovision.

titan apparatus-which is automatically controlled for: dehydrating the cereals, by hot air forced throughthecerealsm a. closed circuit with means for withdrawing humid hotuair from-the-circuit while. supplying; suficient: fresh dry airto the circuit to. maintain substantially a continuous dehumidifying process for. the cereals.

A furthenobject of. the. invention is: the pro.- vision of an. apparatus-for. removing excess-.moiseture-girom grains; prior to storage; said" apparatus including; a, normally closed circuit in. which is. Stored.- a massiof grain andv through which a conetinuous:circulationrothot air is;maintained until saidqairreachesa degree :of, saturation.whence..-ai hygrostat will; cause. an. exhaust fan to.v be set in:.opera-tion for; removing progressively thesatur rated: meansbeing employed at-this time-for suppiying; fresh: air: to the, circuit; toobtain a. resultingsmixturea therein that has beencondi: tionedfora normal humidifying process,:thecy.cle continuing in-an. open and. closed. circuit until the evaporation becomes substantially constant and the exhausttperiods. comparatively infrequent;

T'herinvention willrbe best understood from-aconsideration 1 of I the: following; detailed: descrip;

tion. in-connection with the accompanying draw ings, nevertheless; it must: beeborne in mind that the invention is-not confinedto the disclosure but islsusceptibleeof; such :changes andmodifications as shall-defines nov material .departureefrom the salient features. of the; invention assexpressedzin the appendediclaims.

In the drawings:

1., is an longitudinal. verticals section: of my dehumidifiemtaken; along: the. line; r-J of Ei' ureiz I I Figure 24's aplanzviewtofi the dehumidifier with parts-imsections Figures. 3:1'is :a rear end vievwi'm elevation of the dehumidifier; r

2. Ei'gu're. 4e. is an. enlarged fragmentary vertlcai section. taken. along the line 4-4 1 of Figured, showing more. in. detail. a hinged door provided with automatically 'operated' louvers in connection with anexhaust fan;

Figure: 5 is. an enlarged vertical section. or a hygrostat. for: setting in operation. the exhaust fan and" a motor for: opening. and. closing the louvers associated with saidfan; Figure Gris. an enlarged end view of the hygro stat which isat right angles to thesectionilluss trated in Figure 5; Y a

Elgure '7 shows. moreor less diagrammatically electric circuits for: controlling various operating mechanism-of;thezhumidifier;.and Eigure 8c is; afragmentary' transversegvertical' sectioni taken alongthe line 8- -8; oft Figurerh Referring more: particularly" to: the drawings; I 0 and- I 0a designate sections ofla concreteba'se upon which is:m'ounted a: rectangularly shaped housing I Ihaving agable roof I2? 'Ihebase has a centrally disposed longitudinal channel or di'ag' pit I 3--to=receive-the" cereals after they have-teen dehumidified sufficiently; The upper" faces 1 I 4 or the base at each: side ofthe channel are incli-ned downwardly towards the channel so tliafkth cereals will roll into" said channel as will be explained; presently; forremova'l by. aconveyor notshow-n'. The opposite ends-offthe" drag pit or. channel I3 are closed by hinged doors- IE-tiut are opened'during rem'ovalofith'e cereal;

The floor of the housing is formedof'a weary of perforated metal plates I3 which enemies: gitudinally of thehou'sing andin close association with... each other to prevent I the cereal" bei ii'g; treated .fromfalling. into the channel: I 3 andonto. theinclined faces. Ill-of thetop. of' the sections offthebasemember. It will be noted fromr l igiurel'that the plates arev supported by transverse bars I 9 which. in turn are: carried-by the upper por tions; ofethe: base member; The channel I3 and the spaces between .thesinclined'. faces Il-and thej perforated plates: t8 v provide. air passages as w-i-l-l be explained; presently; The plates I8 are-mov able tmdischarge the grain: into: the-channel 1:13 fromzthe: housing.v I la, .uporropeningLof the doors I5 and employing a suitable tool such as a crows barefor: displacingz 'the plates by an upward pressure; The intermediate: portionsiofctheibars': l9 atleachisideu. of 5' the: pit? or channel-l3 may be provided withfeetZB restingon the inc nee raees ofthe sections Iaivanui. Ina ot the base mempen for-supportingtheplates' l8; The housing- I I meiuees'a-pair"os paraner'stde walls 2! and 22 and end walls 23 and 24 which have the respective gables 25 and 26. The rear end wall has a pair of openings 2'! closed by doors 28. It will be noted from Figures 1 and 2 that the peripheries or" the openings 27 are beveled to correspond to the complemental beveling of the peripheriesof the doors 28 so that when the doors are closed they will seal the openings against the loss of air. The doors are retained in closed position by any well known means. The gable 25 of the front end wall 23 has an opening 38 for a purpose which will be explained presently.

A rectangular door 3! hinged as at 3! closes normally an opening 32 in the gable 26 at the upper end of the rear wall 24. The peripheries of said opening and door are beveled complementally to provide an airtight fit. The door is in the form of a frame having a central opening which is closed normally by a plurality of louvers 33 of well known construction. These louvers are fixed to shafts 34 and are swingable in the opening in the door with the'free edges thereof adapted to be moved outwardly as'indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4.. The shafts have the usual cranks connected together by an operating rod 35 (Figure '7) which is shifted in one direction by a motor 36 in a circuit 37 which is parallel'to the circuit 38a of a motor 38 for operating an exhaust fan 48 enclosed by a protective screen Add and associated with the door 3|. The louvers closeby gravity when the motor 36 is cut ofi. Y

Ahyg'rostat designated generally by the numeral 41 (Figure 1) closes the circuits to the motors 36 and 38 when the moisture in the atmospherein the housing reaches a predetermined degree. The hygrostat shown more particularly in Figures and 6 includes a supporting base 42 attached to the side wall 2|. Spaced pairs or" parallel brackets 43 rising from said base form guides for superimposed strips of basswood 44. The contacting faces of the strips have aligned semi-circular grooves 45 to permit the circulation of air therethrough. The opposite ends of each strip' are cut away to provide pairs of vertical notches 45 to receive the adjacent side edges of the brackets which act as guides for the expanding strips. A bolt 41 threaded into a passage in the base 42 has its upper free end in engagement with the lowermost strip 54a of the basswood.

The bolt may be screwed in opposite directions for adjustably positioning the uppermost strip at various horizontal levels.

A mercury switch is designated generally by the numeral 50. ically sealed glass tube .51 having a predetermined quantity of mercury 52 therein. Spaced contacts 53 and 54 project into the tube. A rod 55,'rigid with the inner end of the tube, has its free end provided with a passage to receive a pin 56 screwed into the wall 2!. As long as the bulb 5| is in the position shown in Figure 5 the circuit to the motors 36 and 33 are open. However, when the moisture content of the air in the housing rises sufliciently, the strips 44 will expand and raise the bulb so that the mercury therein will cover the contacts 53 and 54 and close the circuits to the motors.

i A casing 68 is mounted on a concrete base 6| at one side of the front end 23 of the housing ll with the longitudinal centers of the casing and housing being in alignment (Figure 2). A conduit 82 sealed at one end to the passage 39 has its other end in communication with a blower housing 63, the blower therein being revolved by This switch consists of a hermetan electric motor 64 by means of a belt or chain 65 and the necessary pulleys.

A heater 66 is mounted in a conduit 61 having a reduced end 68 which merges into the blower housing 63. The other end of the conduit is closed except for an elongated passage 10. A tapered conduit?! which has its larger area at the passage 10 extends from said passage to and through the wall 23 of the housing I l where it enters into the space between the perforated plates [8 and the tops of the sections [0 and 10a of the base member for the housing I i. This reduced end T2 discharges air also into the channel I3. The conduit 1 I is so formed that air pressure is built up at the reduced end 12 whence the air enters the channel i3 and into the space below the perforated plates at an increased rate of speed. The heater is controlled by a valve 13 operated by a motor 14 (Figure 7). The motor in turn is in a circuit with a thermostat 15 (Figures 1 and '7) carried by an intermediate transverse bar I9. The thermostat controls in effect the temperature of the air forced by the blower through the cereals stored in the housing i 4.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 and 2; it will be seen that the conduit 652 communicates with a horizontal conduit 83 which leads directly into the center of the blower housing 63- so that air from the housing H is drawn into the housing 63 and recirculated upwardly through the cereals in the housing II. A valve 8| normally closes the outer open end of the conduit 88 but is opened to admit fresh air to the blower housing and this air is mixed with a portion of the air in the housing ll when the louvers 33 are open and the fan a9 is exhausting the moisture-laden air from the housing. The valve 8! is operated by a small motor 82 which is in a circuit 83 parallel with the exhaust fan circuit 38a.

It will be noted that the housing or hopper H together with the conduits 62 and 86, the blower housing 63, the conduits 67 and H and the channel I3 form a closed circuit through which the air heated by the burner 66 is recirculated 'constantly. The cereal, whether corn, rye or wheat;

is supplied to the housing ll through the opening 32 which is normally closed by the door 3| and the louvers 33. The grain is supported by the perforated plates l8 and the heated air is forced through the grain until approximately ten percent of the moisture content is left in the grain. The temperature of the air is maintained at approximately 180 F. It will be appreciated that at this temperature, all insect life willbe destroyed since a temperature of F., if maintained for ten minutes, is sufficient to destroy insects.

During the continuous circulation of the heated air through the cereal, the air becomes saturated with moisture from the cereal and the hygrostat 4| closes the circuits to the motors 38, 38 and 82 whence the louvers 33 are opened and the exhaust fan is operated for forcing the moisture-laden air from the housing or hopper II. At the same time, the valve BI is opened to admit fresh air to the blower housing 53. This fresh air is mixed with the saturated air in the housing. a

The thermostat 15 controls the burner 66 at all times to maintain the temperature of the air at approximately F. However, when the cooler fresh air is admitted by the valve 8!, the thermostat closes the circuit to the motor 14 which opens the valve 13 of the burner so that the air will be heated to the proper temperature. When the moisture content of the air drops to a predetermined degree, the exhaust fan 40 is cut off and the motor 36 stops whence the louvers 33 fall by gravity into closed position. The circuit to the motor 82 is now open and the, fresh air valve 8| will be closed either by gravity or by a spring.

The hygrostat is adjusted by the bolt 41 to start the exhaust fan at a selected degree of humidity in the air. During the exhausting and the supplying of fresh air, the apparatus is working in an open circuit and such circuit is continued until the air has been conditioned to a means adapted to be opened for the removal of the cereal when discharged into the channel, transverse supports above the channel a floor having perforated movable sections positioned on said transverse supports for supporting the cereal above the base and channel, the channel and the space between the fioor and base forming an air chamber, an air heater located externally of the housing, a blower, a casing enclosingthe heater and connecting the blower with the air chamber below the perforated floor and including a tube having a reduced end leading directly into said air chamber, an air return conduit connecting the top of the housing with the blower, means for causing air to be exhausted from the housing, means located in the housing in the path of the air entering the return conduit controlling the last mentioned means when the saturation of the Water vapor in the air has reached a predetermined degree, the cereal being stored on the perforated floor so that the heated air is forced upwardly through said cereal to remove moisture, the floor sections being movable to discharge the cereal into the channel for removal therefrom.

2. An apparatus for dehumidfying a cereal comprising a base provided with an upwardly open longitudinal channel, a housing mounted on the base above said channel, movable means for closing the opposite ends of the channel, said means adapted to be opened for the removal of the cereal when discharged into the channel, transverse supports above the channel a floor having perforated movable sections positioned on said transverse supports for supporting the cereal above the base and channel, the channel and the space between the floor and base forming an air chamber, an air heater located externally of the housing, a blower, a casing enclosing the heater and connecting the blower with the air chamber below the perforated floor and including a tube having a reduced end leading directly into the said air chamber, an air return conduit connecting the top of the housing with the blower, means for causing air to be exhausted from the housing, means located in the housing in the path' of air entering the return conduit controlling the last mentioned means when the saturation of the water vapor in the air has reached a predetermined degree, a fresh air intake in the return conduit, a valve normally closing said air intake and means set in operation by the controlling means for the air exhausting means for causing opening of the valve, the cereal being stored on the perforated floor so that the heated air is forced upwardly through said cereal to remove moisture, the floor sections being movable to discharge the cereal into the channel for removal therefrom.

WILLIAM'A. NOEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 921,206 Davidson May 11, 1909 1,319,391 Harvey Oct. 21, 1919 1,546,180 Osborn July 14, 1925 1,795,418 Bailey Mar. 10, 1931 1,929,688 Hirschman Oct. 10, 1933 2,184,473 Soanlan Dec. 26, 1939 2,228,201 Cotes et al. Jan. 7, 1941 2,252,179 Hueglin Aug. 12, 1941 

